We're Going Hunting
by TreesofPaper
Summary: (DISCONTINUED BECAUSE I'M EVIL) Team JNPR will spearhead their class's adventure to the Forever Fall Forest, a "chapter test" engineered by their teachers. But what was meant to be a simple extermination mission quickly takes a turn for the worse. Somewhat Team Sloth/Arkos/other ships, but not too much.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello lads, ladies, and other life forms. TreesofPaper here, suffering from chronic writersblock-itis and perpetuallylostfiles-monia. Sorry this took so long, but celebrating summer with your Irish cousins and finishing off summer homework (curse you education) can take up much of my time.**

**In other news, there's this chapter. I'm making it a two-parter because- well let's face it, no one's gonna wanna read a 14k+ word count fan fiction (I also just really wanted to get this out). I know this seems a bit humorous and jolly, but I promise people are going to feel such pain in the next part.**

**CLIFFHANGERS FTW**

**Story time.**

* * *

All was nothing. The boy with pink eyes could hear nothing, could see nothing, could feel nothing. He looked up, and the moon came into being in all its shattered glory. He looked down, and grass materialized at his feet, tall and brushing his knees. Then, as he looked ahead, a radiant whiteness shone upon his face. Covering his eyes just enough to dispel its blinding effect, he watched in awe as a little girl walked towards him. She was dressed in pink and could not have been more than 7 or 8. No sooner had she reached him than a great darkness rose up from the ground below them. No Beowolf, no Ursa, no Grimm alive had ever matched its massiveness. Looming like a mountain, its black fur immediately put out the light and separated the two children.

The boy with pink eyes had had this recurring dream for weeks. His companion would wake him any second now.

The darkness grew an arm out of its side with a sickening _squelch_. The black fur built on top of itself further and further and further, until it ceased, tapering off into a small spike.

Any second now.

The darkness turned its body towards the pink-eyed boy, and brought the spike with it.

Any second now.

With a snap, it wrenched its arm forward, hurling the spiked end at him.

Any second now.

It was mere feet away.

Any second now.

It was inches away.

The last thing the boy with pink eyes saw before he woke up was a flash of white.

* * *

"Ren? Rennnn… _REN!_"

"Hmm… NoraAaAaAaAa!" The girl in bright cotton onesie pajamas had leapt up onto his stomach and started throttling his shoulders back and forth. "I'M UP, I'M UP!" He propped himself up, pushing his arms behind his back onto his pillow.

"You've got bedhead again!" Nora giggled. She brushed and patted his hair until it regained its original, sleek shape. She noticed his singular pink highlight and twirled it nonchalantly with her index finger. "Ah… I remember this. Welp, come on. 1st period is starting in an hour." She strutted away to the bathroom to wash and dress.

Ren could only stare at her as she turned the corner with bleary, unfocused eyes. "... Huh? But… but isn't it still Sunday?"

"_NOPE_" Nora called from the sink, slightly muffled by the toothbrush in her mouth.

"Wha… what do you mean?" he looked over at the digital alarm clock by his bed.

_Oh no…_

Everyone hated Mondays. Especially the students of Beacon Academy. Two days of relaxing break to do whatever they pleased; stroll around Vale, go to the amusement park, sleep in. Then out of nowhere, boring classes which required such a large amount of paperwork that local lumber companies saw a rise in revenue every week. Rigorous and dangerous training sessions that left students sore for days. Irritated students and teachers alike walked the halls, muttering and grumbling about the quiz later in the day and the weapon they'd left in their dorm on the bed.

Yes, everyone hated Mondays.

The dining hall was no safe haven from this gloominess. Pyrrha sipped coffee quietly, her face hidden under a mess of auburn hair. Jaune, still half-asleep, had gotten his breakfast from the serving area, and made it halfway to the table before realizing that he'd gotten 24 pieces of dry bread and 1 lettuce leaf. Weiss and Blake had hidden themselves in towers of books, studying for next week's test. Ruby was helping Yang brush her hair, while Yang attempted to make light conversation with Weiss. Of course, Yang was actually trying to make her slip up so she could fit in a dirty joke and make everyone uncomfortable.

Ren and Nora picked up their pancakes (the usual double stacks of 16) and sat down by Jaune and Pyrrha. "Geez." Nora observed. "What's up with you guys?"

Pyrrha spoke up first. "I almost forgot about Oobleck's big test on the origins of Mistral, so I was up all night with Jaune." She gave a sleepy nod and smile in Jaune's direction, who waved the flashcards they'd gone over from the previous evening.

Yang brightened at this incredible opportunity. "I could hear them grunting from our room." she lied to the group, barely holding in a laugh.

"Until like midnight yeah- oh DAMMIT YANG!" Pyrrha's hair still hid her face, but anyone could notice the few shades of pink she'd taken on after realizing Yang's innuendo. The latter had broken down when she heard Pyrrha's last comment. Yang made several moves to finish her food, but ended up snort-laughing and putting the fork back down.

"Oh yeah?" Weiss never looked up from her papers. "Not only do I have to study for that, but as Schnee Dust Company heiress, I've also got to help plan for the Annual Sponsor Ball on Saturday."

"A ball, eh?" Jaune perked up slightly. "Would the Ice Queen, by any chance, like to go with me?"

"Even if I were to agree, you'd have to be a sponsor. Annual _Sponsor_ Ball."

"So you're saying you _would_ agree if I was a sponsor?"

Weiss Schnee rolled her eyes and went back to work.

Yang entered the conversation. "Well, don't you have to bring someone to the dance?"

"_Ball_", Weiss corrected. "And I usually go with my father and my sister. But I am usually the one who plans them."

"Well you don't seem to be handling it very well." Yang gestured to Weiss's tired eyes and the stacks of papers around her.

Weiss dismissively waved a hand in the air. "Oh this is normal. I'm quite good at handling balls."

Upon hearing this, Yang's eyes widened and her cheeks puffed out. She hid her face in her hair, leaning over the table, and started pounding it with her fist. Much of the hall turned to look at her, and Ruby conked her over the head with her brush. Blake, Jaune, and Nora were dying of laughter. Pyrrha chuckled lightly, and even Ren cracked a slight smile. Weiss had turned neon red; she'd been caught off guard. "Y-y-you fiend..."

Ruby spoke up for her friend. "Hey, don't laugh! Weiss is a very well-organized, smart, and innovative person."

"Thank you, Ruby." Weiss huffed, still in her human tomato form.

"I, for one, think she'll handle this ball very smoothly."

Teams RWBY and JNPR ended up being 7 minutes late to Port's Grimm studies class, out of breath and still crying with laughter. Weiss pouted, lagging behind the group. "IT'S NOT THAT FUNNY!"

* * *

"...as you all should know, seeing as we discussed this topic last Friday, the best way to destroy a pack of Beowolves is to...?"

Very few hands went up in response to Port's question. "Ah... let's see... yes, Pyrrha."

"Beowolves travel in packs of around a hundred, so fire must be used to herd them in, or sounds between 90 and 95 dB. Once herding is accomplished, 2-3 members of your team must encircle the herd and use any necessary force to eliminate the Beowolves. Speed during this stage is key, as being pulled into the herd can mean death. 1-2 team members must stay under cover or at high ground to pick off the stragglers." Pyrrha took a deep breath and waited for Port's answer.

"I... Well... straight from the textbook! Incredible!" He applauded his student with large, booming, oak hands. "Then again, there's always an exception." As he said this, he glanced in Ruby's direction. "Moving on! What is the proper method to use when exterminating Nevermore?"

This time Ren gave it a try. "Regular procedure dictates that long range weapons are a necessity. They can be used to move the Nevermore into an area where its maneuverability is limited, like a forest or extreme hills biome. It has one weak spot at the base of its neck, which one can reach by either mounting the bird from a high position or by shooting down a wing or two. Once reached, a large incision must be made, killing the Nevermore instantly. The most important thing to keep in mind is the environment, as strategies for killing Nevermore have increasing variation."

"Excellent, excellent! I see you've all been studying!" Port boomed jovially. The class was still quite confused as to why he'd chosen to ask this seemingly random question in the middle of a lesson on prehistoric Grimm. "Well, I brought this up again today- I know you all thought this lesson was over- but I raised the point again because this class will be doing something special." He emphasized "special" with a lean and a wink. "You see, Professor Goodwitch has noted a rise of Death Stalkers in the Forever Fall forest recently, and I saw this as a good chance for review. Strategy is unbelievably important out there in the field, so think of this as a chapter test."

"We're finally gonna go back?" gasped Ruby. "YESSS! Crescent Rose finally gets to see some action again!"

"You all have until Thursday to prepare; during this time, I expect you all to be in shape and have a plan B, just in case. I will give you Friday off to rest and recover." A slight cheer went up at this. Thinking that his students were cheering for the grueling, tiresome extermination mission to come, Port laughed his Santa laugh again. "Ah, I'm so PROUD of you all, just raring to go. In fact, it reminds me of one of my adventures with my team when I was your age." He coughed and cleared his throat, lowering his pitch for dramatic effect. "We were outnumbered 10 to 1..."

His students' groans fell on deaf ears.

* * *

"We could barely take _one_! I nearly broke my _neck_ that time! How are we supposed to take down an entire _nest_ of Death Stalkers?"

"Chill out, Ren." Jaune patted his teammate on the back and put on a brave grin. The class bell had rung, and all students filed out for lunch. "We've all trained really hard, and we're much better in combat now. If anything goes wrong, I'm right there."

"Wow. Thanks." Ren replied dryly.

"No problem!"

"Your knees are still shaking." Nora observed under the lunch table.

"Uhhh... E-eat your lunch, Nora... we'll need our energy for this week." Jaune shoved a piece of chicken in her mouth and she chewed slowly.

Jaune was determined to get an A on this "chapter test". He didn't actually care about his grades, he just wanted to prove his strength and leadership skills. His orientation day had been quite embarrassing, and yes he'd become a leader, but he also adopted the title of laughingstock. With this mission, he planned to change that. No screw-ups, no messing around, no loose ends, this had to be absolutely perfect. And, as a little extra, Port had offered a reward to whichever team killed the most Death Stalkers. The winner would be allowed to miss three of Port's classes and still earn full merit. The free periods team JNPR would earn would give them time to relax and let Jaune get a little guitar practice in (no one could know about this secret).

"Alright, team." Jaune slammed his hands on the table for emphasis, but immediately cringed at how much noise he'd made. "Here's the plan."

"You've got a plan already? We just got out of class!" exclaimed Pyrrha. Maybe the boy was smarter than he seemed at first.

"N- no... well it's a plan to plan the plan." He told them all his concerns and expectations for this mission (of course, omitting the guitar part) as he finished his salad. "We'll meet back at the dorm tonight, right after class and figure out all the details of what we'll be doing to prepare, and what our plan is during the mission."

Pyrrha put a hand on his shoulder. "Oh Jaune, you're not a laughingstock." Even as she said this, a pack of girls walked by the hapless blonde and had a small giggling fit. Jaune gave her a look. "Well... I guess you could up your reputation a little. And the three free periods do sound nice."

"Well if we really are going to work at this, we better work hard." The three turned to look at Ren. "I don't want a repeat of Orientation day. I still can't bend over without feeling pain."

"So it's settled?" Jaune looked around at his teammates.

"I'm with you." confirmed Pyrrha.

"Let's- _ow_\- do this." agreed Ren, just having dropped his spoon under the table and bending to pick it up.

"Eh. Got nothing fun to do anyways." chimed Nora.

"Alright then."

* * *

"So what do you think Jaune's having us do tonight?" whispered Nora to Pyrrha as the classroom door slammed shut behind them. Jaune Arc had gotten permission to leave Professor Peach's Physical Sciences class 5 minutes early with so much begging and pleading and reasoning that, in the end, Peach let him go because she was embarrassed by the amazing lack of dignity the boy had. He blew through the halls, straight to JNPR's dorm, and locked the door behind him just as the final bell rang.

The sun had begun to set, casting fiery lights and slight shadows through the buildings. Students poured out of classes into the halls like water from a fountain. Especially Port's last class, who'd been subjected to cruel and unusual punishment consisting of a long, sappy story of Port's younger days, which Port had described in too much detail. Teenagers still shivered at the thought of their large, hairy teacher attempting to trap a Boarbatusk by seducing it. Nora, Ren, and Pyrrha pushed through the crowds, taking potshot guesses at whatever Jaune had planned for the next few hours.

"He probably has a long workout and sparring session that he expects us to follow." suggested Nora, latched to Ren's arm as she was wont to do.

"Jaune?" Pyrrha chuckled. "He can hardly do a pull-up. Still, that's why I'm working with him."

"Maybe it's just a long, boring Powerpoint presentation. Had enough of those already." Nora yawned. Indeed, Oobleck's history class was filled with slides upon uninteresting slides of dead heroes and ancient civilizations. Who cared about the Great War of 3055? How would knowing how humanity discovered Dust in 5021 affect their daily lives? Oobleck was an interesting, eccentric person; that much they could admit. But once class started, he became as fun as watching paint dry.

"As if he could prepare that, let alone be willing to actually make it. Again, working with him." Jaune's incompetence at nearly everything to do with being a Hunter was often frustrating, but she enjoyed seeing her friend progress and grow with her help.

"He's been studying a lot lately; I'm not sure he'll be that unprepared." Ren pointed out. "Hey, speaking of which..."

"Hmm?" Pyrrha turned to the pink-eyed boy.

"You two have been studying together into the wee hours of the night together for a while now, right?"

"Yeah, so?" She turned to Ren, not sure where this was going.

"Does he know you like him?"

Pyrrha stumbled a little, dropping a book on the carpet. "H-how did..." Though she'd hidden her face with her hair again, it wouldn't cover up the scarlet flush creeping up her neck. After all her caution and work... "Was I… t-that obvious..." she asked meekly, holding her arm with her opposite hand.

"Eeeeeyup! We could tell since day one!" Nora's gleeful remark caused Pyrrha's foot to catch as she bent to pick up the book, sending her face first into the floor.

"I… I see..." The bright vermillion girl picked herself up, slightly shaking out of nervousness. "Could… Could you at least keep it a secret until… until I'm ready?"

"NOPE! I already told him!" Nora grinned.

"WHAT!?" Pyrrha was about to faint.

"Just kidding." the small girl giggled. She then put on a more serious face. "But seriously, when are you gonna tell him? We're all dying to see it happen."

"Once I'm _ready_. And see what happen?"

"You know."

Pyrrha had grabbed her book with a quivering hand and was just about to place it back in her bag. "Huh?"

"WE WANNA SEE YOU MAKE OUT REALLY HARD!" Nora's outburst drew the attention of a couple teams, who popped their heads out of their dorms to check out the ruckus. Pyrrha had hidden her face with her book using one hand, while covering Nora's mouth with the other. Ren just sighed, his face in his hand.

"I-I-I-I..." Pyrrha took several deep breaths. "I kind of exp-pected this kind of... thing... from Nora... but you t-too, Ren?"

"No, I-"

"S-so perverted..."

Ren made an indignant noise, then sighed. "Alright girls, we're here. Try to keep the make out talk to a _minimum_ while we plan." Ren pulled out his scroll and waved it past the sensor, unlocking their dorm room door.

"**I've been waiting for you.**" beckoned a gravelly, haunting voice. The entire room was dark, even the curtains had been shut to block out the moonlight. Only the dim shine of a dusty lamp bathed a small patch of the floor and illuminated the back of a high-back leather chair. The chair slowly spun around clockwise to face the three confused students. A large grin dominated Jaune Arc's face, turned into a terrifying sneer by the lamplight.

"**Come fort- **oh shit**-**"

Jaune had spun the chair with a little more momentum than he thought he did, so that it turned away from his teammates again.

"shitshitshitwait**-**"

He attempted to use the lamp to spin himself back around, but the lamp fell to the floor.

"oh dammit**-**"

Jaune fell to the floor as well, and the chair toppled onto him, knocking the wind out of him. Pyrrha sighed and flicked the light switch by the door. "Jaune, what are you doing?" she asked the pile on the floor.

"Uh.. th-that was just something I always wanted to do." The boy rolled the chair off of him and popped up. "Oh well." He propped the chair back up, and replaced the lamp on the desk. "5 minutes was actually more than enough time to set all this up." As Nora, Ren, and Pyrrha came closer, they noticed several diagrams on the wide, mahogany surface. There were several pictures of Death Stalkers off to the right, one of them a normal picture, the others precise anatomical drawings of it. A map of Remnant was featured on Jaune's scroll, placed in the center. Several other unintelligible maps, lists, and art had been strewn around the desk.

Nora bent over and picked up a fallen picture of a Beowolf off the carpet. "Did you draw this? THIS IS AMAZING!"

"Yeah, I sketch a little." he dismissed his art for the moment. "Now, gather round." Pyrrha, Nora, and Ren moved to his side as he began.

"So! Since we nearly died on our first day here, I think we need to come up with a better extermination strategy."

"I second that." chimed Ren as he rubbed his aching back.

"Our strategy, though effective, was crude. Needs refining. What I'm thinking is that, when we encounter a Death Stalker, we need to eliminate its weapons; namely, the stinger and claws. Pyrrha can take care of the stinger easily, as we saw on that first day." The corner of Pyrrha's mouth turned up a little at this. "Ren and I will have to take out the claws, or at the very least distract them. Nora, this is where you come in. After we've destroyed its appendages, the Stalker won't have anything to protect it's head. You're going to have to slam Magnhild and simultaneously release a few rounds into it's head. Does that sound doable?" He looked up from his scroll to see the other three staring at him in surprise.

"That… could actually work." admitted Ren.

"But this won't be just one. We're taking on a whole nest!" exclaimed Nora. "I mean, sure it's not gonna be just us; we've got the rest of our class. But still, we're going to have to take down more than just one."

"What will we do if we get flanked?"

"How will we take out the claws?"

"Do we have a plan B?"

"Can I have a sandwich?"

_**5 hours of painstaking debate and 44 1/2 sandwiches later...**_

"... so that'll be all for tonight then. Now, everyone go to sleep; it's nearly midnight, and we'll need all the rest we can get in the coming week." Empty coffee mugs were placed in the sink, cracker crumbs were brushed away, and papers were collected. Ren clambered into his bed, soon joined by Nora, who'd pushed their beds together so they could sleep together like they always had (but not together-together). They conversed in hushed, sleepy whispers.

"That... actually wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be." admitted Nora. "Our end result sounds simple and effective. I've never seen this super thinky, seriouser side of our Jauney-boy. He gets really intense." Nora pulled the covers up to her upper arms and rolled over to face Ren.

"What'd I tell you? You know, he used to play a lot of these types of games as a kid. Told me it was his mom's talent that made him so good at strategy card games, MMORPGS, you name it." Ren knew firsthand; he'd lost to his leader in most every game they played. Chess, checkers, even Hardcore Jenga (which involved removing three bricks at once from a 2 meter tall tower) were child's play for Jaune.

Nora pulled Ren's arms around her and snuggled deeper into the blanket. "It's a shame he's still really awkward and shy. Hope he can use this as a boost."

"He's a natural leader, and I trust him fully. No matter how awkward he may be." Ren let out a final yawn and closed his eyes.

"Well if you trust him, that's enough for me."

"Go to sleep, Nora."

"Okay." She smiled, then sighed, then snored herself away.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the room, Pyrrha and Jaune were doing the exact same thing (but without the sleeping together part; Pyrrha would absolutely lose it if that happened, though she was considering it).

"Jaune, first thing tomorrow you start training us. You realize how dangerous this mission is." Pyrrha's concern showed clearly, even through her yawns.

"I know. Which is why we came up with all those contingency plans. And actually, I'd prefer to leave the training to you."

"Huh?"

"Thanks to what you've already put me through, I'm actually looking, feeling, and fighting much better. I think it's best to leave this part up to you. You'll help us improve in combat, like I'm working on stratagems, Ren on medicine, and Nora on pyrotechnics. You're in charge of us physically until Thursday, alright?"

"Really?"

"I don't trust anyone more than you." Jaune never understood the weight his words carried.

"Wh-why thank you!" Flustered, Pyrrha rolled over and turned off the lamp quickly, so Jaune couldn't see her smile. "N-now go to sleep, busy day tomorrow."

"Alright." Jaune smiled and turned to face the window.

The room sufficiently darkened, and her bed sufficiently snug, Pyrrha sighed and lay on her back, fiddling with the covers for a little. She fixated on the ceiling fan and closed her eyes.

_It's nice that he's really pumped for this. If only he showed this much enthusiasm in classes... But I guess I have a reason to be happy about this as well. My first extermination mission; this could draw more attention away from my career as just another pretty faced, cereal-advertising model, who's only good for competing in the occasional tournament and making people money. They'll all see that I'm just a Huntress, and hopefully, they'll leave me alone. I'm sick of this spotlight on the parts of me that don't matter. Jaune's the first one who treated me like a normal girl, even after finding out about my fame. And that's all I want to be._

Jaune rolled over to face Pyrrha, his face in shadow. Pyrrha froze for a little, but relaxed when she noticed his deep, regular breathing.

_Still, I can't help but worry about it all. This is quite a bit more dangerous than anything I've ever done, even if Goodwitch is supervising. Well, I guess that's why we're going to train a little harder this week. I've got a promise to make good on._

* * *

Pyrrha made good on her promise to Jaune at precisely 5:30 AM the next morning.

_**FWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET**_

Jaune, Ren, and Nora fell out of their respective beds and instinctively reached for their weapons.

"UP AND AT 'EM EVERYONE WE'VE GOT WORK TO DO!" Pyrrha, dressed in a matching pair of burgundy sweat pants and jacket, strutted over to Jaune's leg and kicked it lightly. "COME ON, WE HAVEN'T GOT ALL DAY!" As an aside, she leaned down and whispered in her leader's ear. "_Hey, am I doing it right?_"

"Y-YES MA'AM!" Jaune bolted up and saluted nervously.

"_Sweet!_" Pyrrha giggled. Reverting back to her 'scary general' tone, she stepped back. "ALRIGHT, I WANT 10 LAPS AROUND BEACON BEFORE BREAKFAST! FOR STARTERS! NO DILLY-DALLYING! LET'S GO PEOPLE, LET'S GO!"

Nora, Ren, and Jaune finished her task and arrived, huffing and panting at the main entrance to Beacon. Pyrrha was already there, waiting with three glasses of a purple, unidentifiable liquid. "DRINK THIS!"

"YES MA'AM!" Pyrrha threw the glasses at her teammates and they chugged it immediately. Then began to gag.

Jaune ran behind a bush, retching violently. "BLERGHGHFF- *cough cough* PYRRHA WHAT IS THIS?!"

"Oh, just a little protein shake I mixed up." she smiled sweetly.

"*cough* It smells like someone died!" observed Ren.

"Must be the beondegi, then."

"The what?"

"Korean for silk pupae. Super high in protein."

"WHAT?!" screamed Nora, Ren, and Jaune.

"Or maybe it was the guinea pig." she considered, inducing another round of retching. Nora had collapsed to her knees, crying and apologizing to the glass in her hands.

The rest of JNPR's day was not much different. Pyrrha tried to disguise her training as games, some of which were incredibly questionable. "Fall-off-Beacon-Cliff-and-climb-your-way-back-up-without-using-your-weapon" made for an hour of such "fun". "X-treme double-dutch", while entertaining, left Jaune with a small patch of singed hair. "Hide-and-Seek-in-the-teacher's-lounge" might have been a great lesson in stealth if they hadn't received a week's worth of detention from an enraged Professor Goodwitch, who'd caught them shuffling through her diary (the front cover of which read, 'G + O').

Finally, what seemed like a break rolled around. "I know I've worked you three really hard, so why don't we have some fun?" Pyrrha had brought her team to the Vale SuperMall, more specifically to the laser tag arena.

"We're gonna play here?" Nora looked up. "Finally, something enjoyable!"

"Yep! I've even reserved the whole arena for ourselves. Thank you, sir!" Pyrrha called to a man in the back. "A little free-for-all might help relieve a little stress, and even help our accuracy."

"That's great, Pyrrha!" Jaune hadn't played laser tag in years, and was getting an itch in his trigger finger. He hefted a big blaster from the wall.

"Oh, it's nothing. But one more thing. I asked the guys to modify the lasers a little. Don't worry, you guys should be fine, but... well think of the sting as motivation not to miss."

"What do you mean modif- AGH!" As an example, Pyrrha had picked up a modified blaster and shot Jaune in the leg, not with a built in laser light, but with 25,000 volts of electricity. "I will be playing as well. Winner doesn't have to do any more work, losers have to run two miles around the track when we get back to Beacon."

She looked around at her friends. Nora was giggling menacingly to herself, Ren's mouth was open wide, and Jaune was on the ground, his leg still jiggling from the shock. "Welp, have fun!"

* * *

"Pyrrha, *pant* *pant* I really don't think *pant* *pant* all this running is necessary-"

_**FWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET**_

"TWO MORE LAPS ROUND THE TRACK REN!"

"But-"

_**FWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET**_

"We-"

_**FWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET**_

"It's not-"

_**FWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET**_

"Fine." He jogged off, sweating like a dog. Ren normally refused to use any more energy than was necessary, but he was only going along with all this because he didn't want to be slammed into another rock by a Grimm. And also because he, along with Nora and Jaune, had gotten shocked so many times that they'd lost track of the score; all they knew was that Pyrrha had won by a landslide.

_I understand that I need to get stronger, but will only two days of this get us ready? I need to make sure we're all safe, especially Nora, because she's just so reckless. Always has been. But these sessions won't strengthen us so much as tire us out. Well, once we're done here, it's my turn._

Ren made it back just before Jaune crossed the finish line. "Whipped!" Yang jeered at the blonde boy, who would have retorted with a witty remark if he wasn't doubled over, hands on his knees and panting heavily.

Pyrrha strutted up to her breathless teammates (Nora being the exception; she'd blown past all of them without breaking a sweat). "I guess that's all for now. I'll be handing over training to Ren now."

"Just *pant* just give me a minute..."

Back at the dorm, Pyrrha, Nora, and Jaune sat at the foot of their respective beds. Ren stood by the window, illuminated by the warm light of the lamp that Jaune nearly broke the other day. A small table of five vials stood to his right, sparkling kindly. As he opened the map application on his scroll, Ren began his talk.

"The Death Stalker nest that we'll be destroying is situated here." He showed them all the screen of his scroll, which was completely grey.

"Uhm, Ren? I think your scroll is broken." Jaune observed, prompting Ren to turn it around to check it.

"No, it's functioning perfectly." Ren shrugged. "Why?"

"Well, it's all just... grey."

"That's the point. This grey expanse is the plateau in the center of the Forever Fall forest, under which you encountered the first Death Stalker."

Nora giggled behind her hand. "I remember that. We thought some girl was in trouble!" Even Pyrrha let out a small snicker. Jaune gave her a look, and she composed herself.

"Uh... *ahem* Please continue, Ren."

"Thank you. Now, these Grimm like to dwell underground. They do not dig; instead, they bore massive holes into these sheer cliff faces using their stingers as drills. Unlike normal scorpions, they do not carry their young on their backs. Instead, Death Stalkers store all their eggs around the center of their nest, which should be somewhere here." Ren circled an area of the grey expanse with his finger, highlighting it red. "Their venom is highly toxic to us and has a low lethal dose, but to their young, it's protection, it's nourishing. So the mothers spray down the eggs with the venom often. But-" He then traced a jagged line to a small blue dot. "Arlong River runs underground through the central nest. A little bit of the venom from the nest runs off into it, and all that diluted venom makes its way here."

"And what is that?" Jaune asked, squinting at the dot.

"This is a small pool in a massive hole in the plateau. Much of the grown Death Stalkers live inside the walls of this hole. We know it as the Pit."

"Y-you can't be serious!? That's THE Pit?" Jaune's eyes widened. The Pit was an infamous location. Many teams of brave, naïve Hunters and Huntresses had ventured down into the Pit in hopes of ridding the Forever Fall forest of Death Stalkers. Almost none came out alive; and no one came out dead either, because everyone else was too afraid to go back and fetch the bodies. This wasn't part of the plan. To think that such a dangerous hell-hole was less than a few miles from where he slept and ate...

"I know what you're thinking, but the only reason we might have to go there is to get samples for an antidote in case one of us... you know." He coughed and looked at his friends for half a second. Ren then turned around to the five vials on the table. "These four green ones", Ren explained, "contain 2 fluid ounces of pure Death Stalker venom each. This fifth, red one contains an ounce of the antidote."

"But how-" Pyrrha raised a finger.

"Professor Glynda lent me a small amount after I told her about our plan. All four of us will take one green vial and attempt to brew a version of the antidote as best as possible, using this red one as an example. Because this is such a high-risk mission, we always have to consider the worst case scenario, so I don't want any of you unprepared for a sting from a Death Stalker. Now," Ren bent over behind the table, and with a grunt, heaved a large chemistry set up from the floor onto the table. "Let's begin. Here, Nora. Take this beaker-"

The door flew open with a crash, causing Nora to drop the beaker. Ren, with his lightning reflexes, caught it an inch off the floor. "Hey, guys!" exclaimed Yang from the doorway. Wat'cha doin'?" She glanced around at their faces and the large collection of vials, tubes, syringes, and other chemical miscellany. "Cooking meth, I see! Never took you for that type, to be honest. But I guess this world needs a new Heisenberg."

"We are TRYING to learn to create an antidote to Death Stalker venom for the upcoming mission.' Ren sighed as he straightened back up. He handed the beaker back to Nora carefully and slowly. "And who's Heisenberg?"

Yang ignored that last question. "Really? Count me in, then! Don't want any of my team dying on me, that's way too much paperwork I'll have to go through." Yang's jest, despite her cheery tone, was still laced with a barely perceptible sound of serious concern. Ren understood, and accepted her request.

"You know, why not just invite them all over? It'll save us time." he suggested as an afterthought.

"Good idea!" Yang slammed the door, causing Nora to drop the beaker again, this time shattering it.

"Uhh... oops!" Nora laughed nervously with a shrug. Ren just sighed and rubbed his eyes. He waited for Yang and the rest of team RWBY to walk in so he could begin his lesson.

And waited.

And waited.

And waited some more.

"Oh, come on! They're just across the hallway, how long does it take? It's been 15 minu-"

The door slammed open once again. "Yo, yo, yo, Xiao Long in the house! You said bring them all over, right?"

"Finally! Yeah, come on in." replied Ren.

"You heard him, guys! Come on in!" Yang called out into the hallway. Team JNPR looked around at each other. Yang's team should be right behind her, why should she need to call like that? Out of the blue, a horde of students came flooding in to JNPR's dorm. The floor rumbled, and Jaune, Pyrrha, and Nora were jostled up to the head of their bed, squished among their classmates.

Jaune, crowded between Velvet and Ruby, managed to squeak out a small, "You… invited the whole… class?"

"What? He _did_ say all of them!" Yang retorted. Ren just stood there, holding a small test tube, his mouth wide open.

"Y-Y-Y-You..." he stuttered, pointing a finger at her. He took several deep breaths, eyes closed. He opened and closed bis hands with excessive force. _It's okay, Ren. They all just want to learn, they all just want to make sure no one gets injured. I'll accommodate them-_

_**CRASHHH**_

"Sorry." said someone near the back of the crowd.

_-even IF they're not exactly careful with my things._

"Alright, I'll help you all, but you have to promise to pay attention and NOT break any more of our things." he acquiesced, with a pointed look at the people in the back. "But, it's impossible for us all to work here. Too small."

"We could go outside?" offered Pyrrha.

"Nah, curfew, remember? " denied Ruby.

"Port's class!" shouted a voice from the back.

"The labs?" suggested another.

"Those are locked."

"How about..." The room erupted into a sea of arguments and quiet yelling (it was, after all, 10 PM). Weiss tried to calm everyone down, wildly waving her hands, but was largely ignored.

Nora pushed her way from her bed, through the crowd to Ren. "Let's go to the dining hall." she whispered in Ren's ear, clear even through the din.

"It DOES have enough room, and food for us all. And it is open at all times…" Ren whispered back. "Very well." With the help of Nora, he hoisted himself up onto the table, which was then hoisted up by the deceptively small girl. A hush crept over the room at the sight of the boy in the air. "Let's go." he said in a quiet, yet unnaturally authoritative voice. Nora pushed through the crowd into the hallway, using the massive desk she held aloft. Jaune and Pyrrha herded the others out after them, and closed their dorm room. For a little bit, they hung back to watch the odd sight. A boy holding baskets of glassware, standing on a big mahogany table, carried by a neon pink girl, leading a horde of students through the halls.

"Sometimes I think he could've been a better leader than me."

"Jaune. Ozpin didn't make a mistake with you, you know that."

"I know."

"Now come on, let's go." she grabbed his wrist and led him to the dining hall.

Jaune put on a smiling mask and allowed himself to be led, hiding his worry about the mission and what would happen if he failed to lead. _And yet..._

* * *

The dining hall never used artificial light. During breakfast, lunch, and dinner, it was solely lit by light from the Sun or Moon, reflected and amplified enough to brighten the hall (No one could ever say that Beacon Academy was unfriendly to the environment). However, this was _far_ past dinnertime. The moon could not provide enough light to illuminate the hall well enough. Fortunately, Blake and Yang were more than willing to help. The pair dashed back to their dorm and returned, around two dozen candles in their arms. When questioned by Velvet as to why they owned two dozen candles, Blake and Yang replied with, "Reasons." and a bright blush each.

Anyways.

Lit by soft, warm, "Sensual Snapdragon-scented" candlelight(everyone did their best to ignore the candle's name), Ren proved his worth as a teacher that night. With the help of Nora, Jaune, and Pyrrha, he efficiently and successfully educated the rest of his classmates on how to create an antidote for the venom of the Death Stalker in just a little over an hour.

By the end of his lecture, the four green vials had been transfigured into four blood-red vials. He and his team then proceeded to educate the others on how to properly tie a tourniquet, attach a splint, and control bleeding in case they received an injury while their aura was depleted. Even Ozpin and Glynda came to watch, sipping coffee by the door as Ren continued his lesson, quietly debating whether or not a teaching position could be opened up for the boy when he came of age.

12 gongs echoed through the dining room, signaling the end of Ren's little class. Students shuffled out, chattering all the way back to their beds, waving thanks-and-goodbye to team JNPR. As Nora waved back, she leaned over to Ren. "Just like when we were kids in Atlas, am I right?"

Ren responded with a small chuckle and accepted a sweet(and crushing)team hug.

They began gathering his things and clearing the tables. Pyrrha took a long time handing the candles back to Blake and Yang, which Jaune noticed. He walked over just in time to see a slightly red Pyrrha hide a small package in her jacket, and Blake and Yang walked off with a smirk. Ren reflected on the past couple of days, a near imperceptible smile on his face. Though he didn't usually show it, Ren really quite enjoyed sharing small moments like these with his friends- no- he could count them as family now. Surrounded by his team and sharing a laugh; this was his home now. For the most part, they'd forgotten about the mission and just resorted to talking about the silliest things, like why Jaune hated flying and Nora's demented dreams. _I think we'll be alright_, Ren thought, as the first group of the new Death Stalker eggs hatched just a few miles away. Hundreds of little snapping creatures began to pour out, releasing an immeasurable amount of spores into the thick cave air. The scuttling of a thousand beasts echoed off the walls as the Death Stalker mothers converged on the central birthing ground. All of the nest let out a bloodthirsty, guttural, demonic roar.

_**The Hunters were coming, but the nest would be more than ready.**_

* * *

**I really need to give thanks to everyone who's taken the time to review these little writing exercises. I truly appreciate your input, and if you have any comments, complaints, or suggestions as to how I can improve my writing style, please leave a review; it really does help.**

**No seriously help me.**

**Anyways, thanks to Homerocity(first review woo), Master Tdog, deni. .3, DarkZexi, thehemingwaydilemma, Carnival of Sorts, AoUsagi, violinnerd 14, Agent Washingtub, Commander Eggnogg, and Whistlewind Wolf for acknowledging me and my work.  
**

**I apologize in advance, the next chapter may get a little... GRIMM *bursts out laughing and slowly lapses into apologies* and also much more sappy Renora fluff, as this chapter didn't focus on them too much.**

**This is TreesofPaper, living life for the next chapter.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello lads, ladies, and other lifeforms. TreesofPaper here, finally back after 50 billion years. I've absolutely given up on regular updates due to my stupidly busy schedule (curse you education once more), but I managed to get this out on a slow weekend.**

**Ok last chapter I lied apparently this is going to be a three-parter because suspense (why not) also I have a massive workload next week so I thought it best to get this out now before another 50 billion years pass**

**Dammit, Jaune.**

**Story time.**

* * *

"You gonna be alright?"

"... I promise."

"Okay. We have to leave in five minutes or so, so- you know. Make it quick."

Pyrrha pushed open the door to Ren's room, quiet as a fox, and left Nora to her business. The normally pink-clad girl wore a little back dress today, yet clutched two pink lilies to her chest for dear life. She stood by the door, hesitant to move in any further, yet hesitant to take up any more time. Nora leaned forward and back on the balls of her heels, waiting for something, anything to happen.

Finally she steeled herself. This is what you've been waiting for, Nora. You have to do this. This is your last chance. She placed one uneasy foot in front of the other.

One foot in front of the other.

One foot in front of the other.

One foot in front of the other.

Her legs now made of lead, she practically collapsed into the plush chair by Ren's bed, and waited some more. Nora could hear the faint beeping of the machines in the room next door, the doctors whispering as they passed through the halls, the occasional wail of an ambulance outside. She'd never liked the hospital; she always associated it with painful memories. The shots, the broken legs, the burn victims. The night she'd tagged along with her childhood friend to the room where they found Ren's parents lying in bloodied white sheets, surgeons working frantically to patch up the two dying victims. And failing.

I still remember the room number. Room B206, right? Actually, now that I think about it, this is the same room- stop it, Nora. Don't think about that now.

With a sigh, she placed one lily on Ren's slowly rising and falling chest, thumbing his nose lightly for old times' sake. She took the other and pushed it into her hair, just above her left ear.

"So, Ren. I may not be seeing you for a while, now. We'll all be flying back to Beacon in an hour or two."

"..."

"The doctor said you may not wake up soon. I know they're obviously wrong, though. We've been through stuff like this before- we'll make it. This'll be over soon, and you'll come back, and we'll make pancakes together, and you'll help me with my homework, and-" Nora cut herself off.

"..."

"Are the nurses treating you alright? I always see them milling about in the halls, but they avoid your room for some reason. It doesn't seem fair to me."

"..."

"I don't know if you heard Jaune or Pyrrha come in and talk to you. They said some really nice things. And team RWBY left you a ton of presents for when you wake up."

"..."

"Well, at least you're doing well. The doctors are making sure to clean you and feed you, and give you the occasional stretch to make sure your body doesn't atrophy. They're even stimulating your vocal cords to make sure that, when you wake up, you can... talk."

"..."

"Please talk, Ren..."

"..."

"Ren, talk to me. Please!" Nora waited a few seconds, and repeated her request in vain. She shook his limp body, causing the bed to move slightly. No response from the pale, gaunt boy.

"Ren! If not anyone else, then me! PLEASE!" she wailed. Still no response.

"REN PLEASE TALK TO ME! DO SOMETHING, YOU IDIOT! OPEN YOUR EYES AT LEAST!" The machine beside Ren began beeping louder as Nora beat his chest furiously, tears flowing freely now. The nurses outside were alerted.

"REN! TALK TO ME!" The pink girl sobbed weakly, slumped over his bed. She put a hand to her face to wipe the tears away, but they wouldn't stop, they wouldn't stop, they couldn't stop. "Ren...*hic* Come on, Ren... that's*hic* enough pretending... Ren..."

The door burst open, and in came a flurry of nurses, along with Pyrrha and Jaune. Apologies mixed with warnings mixed with the stench of that rubbing alcohol, the kind that permeates hospital air conditioners and makes you feel sick. Nora neither heard nor felt anything as she was slowly carried out of the room by her teammates. A wall of green scrubs blocked her view of the boy on the bed, but as the door closed and locked, Nora caught the smallest glance of the lily on his chest.

* * *

**5 weeks earlier...**

Airship service over the Forever Fall forest had been cancelled momentarily. The ousting of one particularly offensive Nevermore nest was still underway, and as such, it was deemed unsafe by Ozpin to pilot an airship anywhere near it. Instead, Ozpin chose the safer alternative; to have the students fight their way through countless hordes of land Grimm to make it to the largest Death Stalker nest in Vale. On foot. A sound plan.

And so, Team JNPR found themselves trudging along through the trees, weary yet wary. Though they were surrounded by classmates more than capable of defending themselves, they jumped at the slightest crack of a twig or rustle of a bush. Professor Port had made it abundantly clear (perhaps too abundantly) that venturing this deep into the forest, even with himself and Glynda in tow, was an incredible risk. Yesterday during class, he'd told a horrifying story of some of the greatest warriors in all of Remnant, who'd dared explore this far. They were ambushed by hordes upon hordes upon hordes of Nevermore, Ursas, Beowolves, Boarbatusks, Death Stalkers, and so many more. The team of elites had been able to hold them off for only so long before, one by one, they were dragged to the nests and brutally eaten alive (Jaune and Ruby had fainted at this point). "If you listen hard enough, you can still hear their dying screams, still echoing through the woods." Port had finished off in an eerie voice. Everyone had been frightened into complete awkward silence for what seemed like eternity, until the bell rang and they all jumped. Switching back to jolly teacher mode, Port called to his students as they wobbled out the door. "Good luck tomorrow!"

Port was ever oblivious to how uncomfortable he'd made his students, even with Glynda warning him he'd possibly completely crushed their morale. Even today, a Friday, the best day of the week, his students shuffled gloomily deeper into the Forever Fall forest. Of course, Professor Goodwitch remained completely stoic and Professor Port skipped along, happy as a Boy Scout. They moved as a unit, Port in the front blasting away a little too gleefully with his blunderbuss axe, and Glynda in the rear, making sure no student fell out of place. They'd been walking for quite some time like this, but it didn't help dispel the tense atmosphere. In fact, it made it worse. Glynda had called for a rest for the students, while she and Port would go scout ahead.

"None of you are allowed to leave this area. Understand?" Professor Goodwitch looked around at the first years menacingly.

"Yes, Professor." they all chimed back. Many plopped down instantly against some trees to give their weary legs a break; they'd been going since dawn.

"We'll be back in five minutes." She and Port turned and walked off into the flurry of leaves.

"Jesus Herbert Walker Christ," Jaune said to Pyrrha under his breath. "How have we even survived this long? How are we even gonna get out once the mission's done without airships?"

"Don't worry." whispered back the Spartan. "Ozpin and team RWBY and the other teams that have faced Nevermores are on that. They're clearing the nest so we can get out safely."

"Thank goodness for that." sighed Jaune.

"Either that or we can fight our way back to Beacon like we're doing now."

"Gee. Thanks." sighed Jaune in a much flatter tone.

"No problem!" smiled Pyrrha. Jaune called Nora and Ren to his side and tried to start a conversation to dispel the terrible mood.

"Can we start a conversation or something? We need to dispel this terrible mood." Jaune nudged Ren.

"OH! OH! I know! I had this dream last night where-" Nora began.

Ren cut her off with a suggestion. "How about we go over the plan again?" They all thanked him with a look, as once Nora got started, she wouldn't stop until she finished.

"Yeah, sure." Jaune drew a Death Stalker in the dirt below them with a stick as they huddled around. "We'll be fighting in the caves for most of this, so first of all-" He pointed to Nora. "-Nora, you need to be a little more precise with that thing than you usually are. It's the most powerful weapon we've got, and we don't want a cave in." Nora nodded, but none of them could help noticing the gleam in her eye when she looked at Magnhild.

"Yyyyeah… Anyways." Jaune eyed her warily. "Once we make it inside the caves, we're bound to encounter more than one Death Stalker at a time. What do we do then?"

Pyrrha answered promptly. "We lure them to a single point and slice off all their stingers at once. Then Nora comes in and, once we're all clear, releases a gas round, then an incendiary round after that, burning them all to a crisp."

"And if it's just one?"

Ren took a turn."You and me distract the Death Stalker, Pyrrha slices off the stinger with her shield, and Nora blows up its face."

"I really like this plan." Nora giggled.

"You like anything to do with explosions." interjected Pyrrha.

"I watched a lot of Michael Bay films when I was young."

"It's true." Ren confirmed. "Hey, speaking of which, we should all go to the movies after this is over."

"Oh yeah, I heard Last Light is out. Best action movie ever!" suggested Jaune, glad of a less serious topic.

Pyrrha perked up at this incredible chance to go to the movies with Jaune."I-uh.. I agree!"

"Oh… what about Bay's newest movie?" pouted Nora.

"Transformers 6? Nah, Megan Fox ruined that one." Ren crossed his arms. "How about The Notebook 2?"

"They made a sequel for it?" Jaune shivered in disgust. "I was forced to watch the first one over and over with my sisters. 'Oh Noah, I'm getting married, but I love you, but I also hate you!'" Jaune waved his hands around, imitating the main character in a ditzy falsetto. "'But Allie, I love you! No wait, I hate you. Let's stare at each other in the rain for the rest of the movie.'" He fell into a gruff, manly voice. In his normal voice, he shook his head. "Absolute nightmare." Nora and Pyrrha laughed at Ren's face upon hearing this.

Ren raised a finger and turned to Jaune. "Hey, it wasn't that bad. The plot was very rich."

"Oh, hush Ren." scoffed Nora. "It was a train wreck and you know it."

"Hey! All you like is senseless violence and wanton destruction." he pointed out.

"You like chick flicks and baking." countered Nora with a smug smile.

"She has a point." conceded Pyrrha.

Ren blushed slightly. "They have ingenious camera techniques and cast the best actors for their respective parts!" He crossed his arms indignantly.

"The fact that you even have that opinion brings into question your masculinity." giggled Pyrrha.

"That does explain the excessive amount of pink you wear." observed Jaune.

"It's not pink! It's lightish red!" Ren shouted indignantly.

By the time Professors Goodwitch and Port had returned, half the students were engaged in heated debate over how much a ship would hurt if it fell on you. They'd enjoyed their break as much as possible, but the sheer contrast of the mission's danger to the students' newfound lightheartedness made Glynda worry. Changes were coming, and not all of them for the better. But still, they wouldn't always be young. She might as well let them enjoy this.

**BOOOOM**

Never mind.

* * *

"What was that?" Cardin looked up to the skies. All the students simultaneously looked up, and watched a purple signal flare climb high into the blue, drawing fumes behind it before sputtering out.

Glynda looked at Port. Port looked at Glynda. They both looked towards the students. "Everyone, teams, NOW!" Glynda ordered. Immediately, the carefree illusion was shattered, once again permeated by fear, by confusion. This time, Glynda led the charge to the caves while Port brought up the rear, though this time much more frantic.

"Prof... Professor Goodwitch..." panted Jaune, who was still somewhat physically lacking. "What's happening? What does the flare mean?" But the woman did not deign to give him an answer. She was completely focused on the path front of her. The situation called for her to brutally obliterate anything that moved against her, and God help any trees in her way. Grimm were actually starting to flee from her, sensing the immense power of her aura.

Finally, after a few more grueling miles, they came to an abrupt stop at an entrance to the caves. The cave's mouth was immense; you could have parked an airship in it with room to spare. All the students, by this time, were worn out and sweating like dogs. Even the teachers were slightly winded. "We're... We're here." Jaune collapsed onto his back and looked up. A massive plateau loomed above them all, dotted with little holes bored by Death Stalker stingers. "Now *wheeze* Mrs. Goodwitch, I think we'd all like to know why we just *pant* ran from purple smoke for a few miles nonstop. If you could-"

"They failed."

"Huh?"

"Ozpin, along with team RWBY and your upperclassmen failed to exterminate that Nevermore nest we talked about earlier. The flare can mean one of two things: either they had to fall back because they ran out of ammunition and we won't be getting a ride out of here-"

"Oh." Jaune threw his hands up in mock joy.

"Or they've suffered major loss of life and the Nevermore are now headed towards us, the only other non-Grimm entities in the forest. And we won't be getting a ride out of here."

"Oh."

No sooner than his face had fallen did a horrifying chorus of snarling and growling come from the trees. With the falling leaves and the dust they'd kicked up, they had absolutely no visibility. The blood red eyes of hundreds of Grimm blended with the leaves of Forever Fall to create one fiery swirl of bright, yet ominous, color. Out of nowhere, a Beowolf leapt out from the right, tackling a student to the ground. The student's team went to work instantly, dismantling the Grimm to little more than fur. Almost immediately, four more dropped from the trees and advanced. Two Ursas, one big and one small, stretched to their full, ominous size from behind a rock. A student with an scoped warhammer pointed into the distance. "KING TAIJITU 2 CLICKS TO THE WEST!" Their barrage through the forest had alerted hundreds of Grimm to their position, and ALL of them were coming.

Glynda looked around and began firing blindly while walking backwards. Confusion and panic sent the group of jittery first years into a frenzy, firing randomly and almost killing their classmates. Flashes of blue, white, green, pink, red, any and every color lit up the forest, but more Grimm kept coming. Beams of lavender rocketed off into the growing mass of Grimm as she called everyone into the cave, an urgency never before heard in her voice. She stood by the entrance, simultaneously firing and counting the students. Port brought up the rear once again, screaming bloody jovial murder as he sent blazing bullets into the crowd of black and red. Once Port had made it in, the two Professors unleashed a volley at the cave mouth's roof, sending rocks crumbling down, over and over and over until there was no light left in the cave. The entrance was sealed.

And all was black.

* * *

The students, who were all panting and suffering noisily just a moment ago, fell into an eerie, horrified silence. Both options meant further suffering and fear on the way back, but the latter one… well, they tried to keep the latter one out of their heads. The latter one involved, not only injury, but as Professor Goodwitch put it, "major loss of life". Immediately, Jaune thought of the immensely beautiful, powerful, and too-young team RWBY getting speared through the skull by- no, no that couldn't have happened. Ozpin wouldn't have let any of his students die, would he? The cause of the purple flare just had to be the former cause. They simply ran out of ammo, right? Plus, though they were still hunters and huntresses in training, they could still hold their own against mountainous odds when the occasion called for it. Yeah, that had to be the cause.

Or at least that was what Jaune repeated to himself in his head as he descended deeper into the plateau, doing his best to avoid running back into the forest. Professor Goodwitch lit her wand, throwing a soft purple light onto the black walls. In this context, black is not synonymous to dark. Black as in black, like the spades in a card deck or the Magic 8-ball you stopped believing in when you were 10. Sticky, too, like syrup. They couldn't tell what it was, maybe a residue of Grimm fluids coating the walls, but they trekked through it anyway.

"Nora." Ren turned and whispered to the girl to her left who looked quite out of place amongst the gloom.

"Yeah?" she replied.

"How far do you think we'll have to go?"

"Until?"

"Until we encounter a Grimm." he clarified, in an even quieter whisper. Of course, whispering in this place wasn't entirely necessary, seeing as they'd already caused enough of a racket getting here. But something in these caves called for quiet. The fact that this was one of the main Grimm nests in all of Vale was a little unsettling, but the fact that they hadn't encountered a single Death Stalker yet, so far in, was downright disturbing. This place should have been crawling with them. Where were they?

Nora sped up to the front of the haggard little group and whispered to Professor Glynda, who, after a moment's pause, turned and whispered back. The small girl nodded, then stopped in her tracks so Ren could catch up. "What did she say?"

"She said that all this goop was a sign." Ren frowned. He hated when Nora tried to be all elusive and mysterious. He hated when anyone tried to be all elusive and mysterious. Especially in a situation like this, he needed answers quickly. Yet he remained patient, this was Nora after all.

"A sign of what?"

Nora looked around at the walls as she clarified. "The new batch of Death Stalkers have recently hatched. All this goop is a safety measure by the mothers so none of the babies can hurt themselves. Which means-"

"They'll all be at the central nest, guarding the young." Ren finished her sentence for her. "We've got a lot more Grimm to fight." A worry line becoming increasingly more obvious on his forehead. Nora didn't answer, she just continued to stare up at the ceiling, her hands in her pockets. This continued for a little while longer, but only a little while.

"Oof!" Nora bumped into Pyrrha's back and nearly bit her tongue off. "Pyrrha, wh-"

"Shh!" Pyrrha hissed. Wordless, the spartan pointed to Professor Goodwitch, now joined by Professor Port, whose hand was raised to signal a stop. The generously built man stooped down and picked up a little shape off the cavern floor.

Port turned to his audience of students and showcased the thing in his hand. "This, my students," he whispered. "is a Death Stalker still in its pupa stage. We're going to be encountering a lot of these on the way down, some of which may have progressed to the point where they can attack." Ren and Nora shared a look. "Be war-"

**SQUELCH SKIT SQUELCH SKIT**

The students froze Immediately, Port drew his blunderbuss axe immediately and aimed down into the darkness. Glynda raised her wand behind her head, and lurched forward, flinging a lavender ball of light through the cave. The ball illuminated the cave only for as long as it was in the air, but as the makeshift flare died out, Glynda could swear she saw a rock move.

**SQUELCH SKIT SQUELCH SKIT SQUELCH**

She threw the ball again. Nothing. Was it just her or was the black stuff getting more dense?

**SQUELCHSKITSQUELCHSKITSQUELCHSQUELCHSKITSQUELCHSKITSQUELCH**

With one final heave, she launched a miniature purple sun into the darkness, and at once, the dank, sticky walls were alive with movement.

Now, an analogy to help you visualize the next few milliseconds. Imagine standing in a room with beautiful wood floors, well decorated walls, and a ceiling that was entirely black except for one point which was white. Imagine thinking that the little white spot was a spider. Then, imagine that you were mistaken, and that little white spot was the only part of the ceiling not covered in black widows. Keeping this image in mind, imagine how the students of Beacon felt as the ceiling crashed to the floor and began skittering madly towards them.

Professor Goodwitch's professionalism almost cracked at the sudden combination of all hell breaking loose behind her and the flood of baby Death Stalkers rushing towards her. Fortunately, almost was the keyword. With a swift flick of her wand, a purple wall appeared before her- no, a forcefield? A barrier? Imagine a droideka from Star Wars- and the black flood broke upon it, shuddering slightly. Beside her, Port had stumbled in shock, but recovered and raised his weapon-

"NO!" Port turned to the woman quizzically. "This barrier works both ways, Peter. They can't harm us from their side, but we can't harm them from ours, either. If you shoot, chances are, the bullets will ricochet and hit a student. Or worse, me!"

"So what are we to do?" shouted Port, partly out of anger that his slaughter was interrupted and partly because he could hardly hear over the screaming of the students. "QUIET!" he yelled at his class to no avail. "Can you open small holes in the barrier?" Port turned back to Goodwitch, who nodded.

"Won't they make it through, though?" She yelled over the chaos, her brow furrowed.

A small smile formed under the bush that was his mustache. He turned to the panicking class behind him, and fired his blunderbuss into the wall goop once, calling for quiet. "You are trained warriors! Get over it!" Port strode forward confidently to them. "Now. Any of you who use explosives or incendiary tactics, come with me. I have a plan."

Ren looked at Nora, who sheepishly complied, along with 4 or 5 other students. He patted her on the back a little absentmindedly and watched her advance. It turned out that, apart from her, there was only one other student trained with explosives. the other three used some form of fire as a weapon or semblance. Port pointed to her and the other bomb wielding student, a big burly guy who looked like he could crush the nearest flower by staring at it. "I want you two to fire in an arc, so your rounds almost hit the ceiling but then fall onto the babies. You other three-" he pointed to the rest. "will light up the hole that this leaves so none of them get through. Ready?"

Nora and the giant of a student fumbled to get their weapons ready, taken by surprise by the speed of his orders. "W-wai-"

"FIRE!" At once, Nora and the other student released one round in an arc toward the top of the shield, which opened up a small hole temporarily. The mass of Death Stalker babies didn't reach this high, so the rounds went through unhindered, but still, a few smarter ones chose to climb the shield into the hole and fall through. The fire based students took care of that as the hole closed behind the rounds, which fell into the sea of black. A pregnant pause, and the center of the mass was engulfed in a white light, erasing anything within blast radius.

"AGAIN!" They repeated the procedure four more times, and four more times did the shield get redder and redder with Grimm blood. Then, the final rumble, then silence. Glynda waved her wand once more, and the formerly-purple shield vanished. Port ordered all the fire users to burn all the blood, as they could all get infected with disease from too much contact. The first wave was finished. The other students, who had been standing back and watching the entrance, could now move on.

Ren caught up to Nora. "Hey. You okay?" He leaned over to catch her eye, as she held a blank expression on her face. She was shaking slightly, and her eyes were still unfocused. Ren pulled her into a hug, to which she responded to, but only very stiffly.

"That was a lot of… uh… blood..." Ren had come to learn over the years that, though she loved mayhem and explosions and general destruction of anything, she really couldn't stand blood. Very ironic, as Ren had pointed out many times before to her chagrin.

"It's okay, Nora, it's over now. Can you keep going? Or do you want-"

"No, let's keep going." Nora pushed him out of the way, not rudely, but not very warmly either. Ren dismissed it as stress and shrugged. They kept walking.

"Professor Goodwitch?"

"Yes, Mr. Arc?" The woman's calm demeanor would never be shaken by anything, not even the massacre of a million squealing scorpions.

"How far do we have to go? Can't we just stay here and wait for them to come out?"

Glynda sighed. "For once in your life, use your brain, Arc. Would you stay outside, a cave of Death Stalkers at your back and hundreds of different types of Grimm lurking through the forest with hardly any visibility and absolutely no support?"

"Uh-"

"And would you allow the Death Stalkers to keep reproducing so that we have to fight more of those things?" Glynda pointed behind them to the mass of charred black goop on the floor.

"Well-"

"Mr. Arc, this mission was not just a bigger version of whack-a-mole. There will be more spawn, and if we give them time to mature, they will grow, as I'm sure you learned in Professor Port's class, at an exponential rate. Our mission has changed. Before that-" Glynda pointed again. "it was to simply kill off a few Death Stalkers and come back. But since the eggs have begun hatching, the danger of this mission has increased drastically. Our new objective is to completely destroy the central nest."

"So they can't reproduce and they'll either die out or move somewhere else?" Jaune smacked his palm with his fist, proud of his deduction.

Glynda sighed. "Yes, Mr. Arc, that was implied. No more nest equals no more Death Stalker babies equals no more big Death Stalkers equals a higher chance of us making it out of here alive."

"U-uh.. sure."

"All we can do for the moment is hope that no more of those little beasts- or the big ones, for that matter- come up our way so we can make it in and out as fast as possible. Now, if you'll excuse me.." Goodwitch walked over to Port and they began whispering furiously.

* * *

Jaune shrugged and joined his team, and for the next 10 minutes or so, all were silent. Aside from the squelch of blood-blackened boots on the floor and the occasional echoing drip of water, nothing could be heard. Silence. It was eerie, uncanny… sinister. Every second felt like an eternity of dread.

After 600 or so eternities of dread, a dull red light illuminated Glynda's face, before vanishing to black and reappearing repeatedly. They'd reached the central nest. Three mighty conic pillars stretched from the floor to a cavern roof about a hundreds of feet above, so high that the top couldn't be seen. This was where the source of the softly pulsing red light was; the pillar was not made from rock, but a luminescent substance alien to them all. Nicks in the pillars were marked with a fat black Death Stalker egg each. The students spread out around the cavern and began to explore. Teams inspected the surrounding caves leading off into the distance, but wisely chose not to venture any further. One could die, not even by Death Stalker, but by just getting lost and starving.

"This is it? This is what we came to destroy? They look so… fragile." Jaune walked over and poked the base of the pillar with his sword ever so lightly. A small, ethereal ripple emanated from the point of contact up, up, up towards the very top, fading beyond vision into blackness. "Huh…" Jaune whispered to himself.

"Really don't think that was a good idea, Jaune." Ren's gaze followed the ripple until it disappeared. The blonde shrugged and moved on to the other pillars.

"It's so hot in here." observed Jaune.

"Sorry." whispered Ren, earning a giggle from Nora. Anything to make her laugh; morbid Nora was sort of bringing down the morale.

And she was still giggling as the ripple Jaune had caused alerted a hundred full-grown Death Stalkers crawling in the darkness on the ceiling, causing them to drop down to obliterate (or eat) whatever foolishly brave things had come to harm their eggs.

And her giggle was still dying down just as the nearest Death Stalker, a millisecond later, used a thick stinger to impale Ren's torso, holding him suspended in the air.

And absolutely all hell broke loose.

* * *

***JIGGLES WEAKLY***

**honestly though, I sincerely apologize, on behalf of school, for the massive gap between last chapter and this update**

**all my thanks to anyone who's ever read this junk**

**next chapter is the last chapter of this arc I promise**

**RIP RWBY until next year**

**aaaaaaaaaaaand this is TreesofPaper, living life for the next chapter (no matter how many millions of years it may take).**


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